DETAILED ACTION
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 12/08/25 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Regarding independent claims 1 and 16, Applicant argues that Wang teaches away from the claimed invention because “Wang is directed toward improving the substrate’s ability to recover flatness after bending”, therefore “adopting a structure that maintains a bent or curved shape … would contradict Wang’s explicit objective of flatness restoration” (Remarks, p. 9-10).
Wang teaches a foldable display ([0003]), which needs “bending ability” to be bent, and “ability to restore flatness” to be returned to a flat state ([0039]), where the bending region is designed to improve the both the bending ability and the ability to restore flatness ([0044], [0046]). No contradiction exists between improving bending ability and improving unbending ability, as both are required for a foldable display.
Applicant further argues that Kim does not teach various specific elements of the independent claim which it is not cited as teaching, but does not address the combination of references as a whole or the rationale provided.
The arguments regarding reference Zhou is moot due to the new art provided in this rejection.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(d):
(d) REFERENCE IN DEPENDENT FORMS.—Subject to subsection (e), a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
Claims 7 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(d) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, 4th paragraph, as being of improper dependent form for failing to further limit the subject matter of the claim upon which it depends, or for failing to include all the limitations of the claim upon which it depends.
Regarding claim 7, the limitation “the first recessed portion and the second recessed portion are outermost recessed portions, respectively” fails to further limit claim 1 from which it depends. Claim 1 requires that the separation area comprises a first recessed area closest to the display layer and a second recessed portion closest to the display driving unit, each portion vertically aligned with the bending axis. Therefore the device of claim 1 already comprises the first and second recessed portions as the outermost recessed portions, as any further outermost portions would have to be closer to the display layer or display driving unit.
Applicant may cancel the claim(s), amend the claim(s) to place the claim(s) in proper dependent form, rewrite the claim(s) in independent form, or present a sufficient showing that the dependent claim(s) complies with the statutory requirements.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102 of this title, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1-7, 10-11, 14-18, and 21-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jang (U.S. PGPub 2018/0090696) in view of Wang (U.S. PGPub 2021/0165447) and Lv (CN 109148534 A).
Regarding claim 1, Jang teaches a display device (Fig. 2) comprising: a substrate comprising a first area, a second area, and a bending area between the first area and the second area (first area A1, second area A1, bending area BA, [0052]); a display layer disposed on the first area of the substrate (200, [0056]), a display driving unit disposed on the second area of the substrate (500, [0060]) and a cover member that comprises a metal material ([0071]-[0073], cover member can include multiple layers including a plastic material and a metal material) and is spaced apart from the display layer (Fig. 2, [0052]), comprising a first surface and a second surface and extending to cover a portion of the second area of the substrate, the bending area of the substrate, and a portion of the first area of the substrate such that the cover member comprises a first distal end in the first area as seen in side view an a second distal end in the second area as seen in side view (600, [0062]-[0064]).
Jang does not explicitly teach the cover member comprising a separation area in which the cover member is partially separated on the first surface opposite to the second surface facing the substrate, the separation area comprising a plurality of recessed portions and being spaced apart from the first distal end and the second distal end of the cover member, the separation area having a thickness less than a thickness of the cover member at a center portion of the cover member and at the first and second distal ends of the cover member, wherein the plurality of recessed portions comprises a first recessed portion closest to the display layer and a second recessed portion closest to the display driving unit, and wherein the first recessed portion are vertically aligned with a bending axis of the bending area of the substrate in a thickness direction of the substrate when the bending area is in a bent state.
Jang teaches wherein a first boundary of the bending area closest to the display layer and a second boundary of the bending area closest to the display driving unit are vertically aligned with a bending axis of the bending area of the substrate in a thickness direction of the substrate when the bending area is in a bent state (Fig. 2).
Wang teaches a metal layer for a display device comprising a bending area and a non-bending area, wherein the metal layer comprises a separation area, area in which the cover member is partially separated on the first surface opposite to the second surface facing the substrate, the separation area the separation area comprising a plurality of recessed portions being spaced apart from the first distal end and the second distal end of the cover member, the separation area having a thickness less than a thickness of the cover member at a center portion of the cover member and at either distal end of the cover member (Fig. 1, 10, 20, 120, [0041]-[0046]), wherein the metal layer is suitable for bending inward or outward ([0049]).
Lv teaches a display device ([0002]) comprising a display area and a bending area having a cover member comprising a separation area in which the cover member is partially separated to reduce stress, wherein the separation area comprises recessed portions, wherein the separation area comprises recessed portions disposed at the boundaries of the bending area (Figs. 2-3, 70, [0029], 80, [0052]-[0053]), and wherein the position and density of the recessed portions may be adjusted to reduce stress (Figs. 5, 6, 9, [0056]-[0059], [0065]).
Therefore it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the time of the effective filing date to combine the teachings of Wang and Lv with Jang such that the cover member comprises a separation area in which the cover member is partially separated on the first surface opposite to the second surface facing the substrate, the separation area comprising a plurality of recessed portions and being spaced apart from the first distal end and the second distal end of the cover member, the separation area having a thickness less than a thickness of the cover member at a center portion of the cover member and at the first and second distal ends of the cover member, wherein the plurality of recessed portions comprises a first recessed portion closest to the display layer and a second recessed portion closest to the display driving unit, and wherein the first recessed portion are vertically aligned with a bending axis of the bending area of the substrate in a thickness direction of the substrate when the bending area is in a bent state for the purpose of releasing stress at the bending region (Wang, [0044]) and at the junction of the bending area and the flat area (Lv, [0065], [0053]).
Regarding claim 2, the combination of Jang, Wang, and Lv teaches wherein the separation area extends into both the bending area and one of the first area and second area (Lv, Fig. 3). It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to further combine the teachings of Jang, Wang, and Lv for the reasons set forth in the rejection of claim 1.
Regarding claim 3, the combination of Jang, Wang, and Lv teaches wherein the cover member is configured to maintain a curvature of the substrate when the bending area is in a recessed state (Wang, [0050]; Lv, [0081], bending performance), and the plurality of recessed portions of the separation area are disposed along a curved surface of the bending area from the first area to the second area (Wang, Fig. 5; Lv, Fig. 3). It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to further combine the teachings of Jang, Wang, and Lv for the reasons set forth in the rejection of claim 1.
Regarding claim 4, the combination of Jang, Wang, and Lv teaches wherein the separation area is substantially parallel to the first area of the substrate and is symmetrical with respect to a plane passing through a bending axis of the bending area of the substrate (Wang, Fig. 5), and wherein the first recessed portion is at a highest level and the second recessed portion is at a lowest level when the bending area is in the bent state (Jang, Fig. 2; Lv, Fig. 3). It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to further combine the teachings of Jang, Wang, and Lv for the reasons set forth in the rejection of claim 1.
Regarding claim 5, the combination of Jang, Wang, and Lv teaches wherein at least one of the plurality of recessed portions of the separation area comprises a groove (Wang, Fig. 1, Fig. 5). It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to further combine the teachings of Jang, Wang, and Lv for the reasons set forth in the rejection of claim 1.
Regarding claim 6, the combination of Jang, Wang, and Lv teaches wherein a center line of the groove is substantially parallel to a line substantially perpendicular to the first area or the second area (Wang, Fig. 5). It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to further combine the teachings of Jang, Wang, and Lv for the reasons set forth in the rejection of claim 1.
Regarding claim 10, the combination of Jang, Wang, and Lv teaches wherein the cover member covers the display driving unit (Jang, Fig. 2). It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to further combine the teachings of Jang, Wang, and Lv for the reasons set forth in the rejection of claim 1.
Regarding claim 11, the combination of Jang, Wang, and Lv teaches wherein the cover member comprises copper (Jang, [0073]; Wang, [0058]). It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to further combine the teachings of Jang, Wang, and Lv for the reasons set forth in the rejection of claim 1.
Regarding claim 14, the combination of Jang, Wang, and Lv teaches wherein a width of the cover member is same as a width of the bending area (Jang, Fig. 1; Wang, Fig. 5). It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to further combine the teachings of Jang, Wang, and Lv for the reasons set forth in the rejection of claim 1.
Regarding claim 15, the combination of Jang, Wang, and Lv teaches wherein a length of a first portion of the cover member covering the first area from the bending area is shorter than a length of a second portion of the cover member covering the second area from the bending area (Jang, Fig. 2). It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to further combine the teachings of Jang, Wang, and Lv for the reasons set forth in the rejection of claim 1.
Regarding claim 17, the combination of Jang, Wang, and Lv teaches wherein the first and second recessed portions extend into both the bending area and the first and second areas, respectively (Lv, Fig. 3). It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to further combine the teachings of Jang, Wang, and Lv for the reasons set forth in the rejection of claim 1.
Regarding claim 21, the combination of Jang, Wang, and Lv teaches wherein the cover member comprises no separation area that overlaps the display driving unit when the substrate is in an unbent state (Jang, Fig. 1; Wang, Fig. 5). It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to further combine the teachings of Jang, Wang, and Lv for the reasons set forth in the rejection of claim 1.
Regarding claim 22, the combination of Jang, Wang, and Lv teaches the second area overlaps the first area in the thickness direction of the substrate when the bending area is in the bent state, and the cover member does not overlap the display layer when the bending area is in an unbent state. (Jang, Fig. 1; Wang, Fig. 5). It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to further combine the teachings of Jang, Wang, and Lv for the reasons set forth in the rejection of claim 1.
Regarding claim 16, Jang teaches a display device (Fig. 2) comprising: a substrate comprising a first area, a second area, and a bending area between the first area and the second area (first area A1, second area A1, bending area BA, [0052]); a display layer disposed on the first area of the substrate (200, [0056]), a display driving unit disposed on the second area of the substrate (500, [0060]) and a cover member that comprises a metal material ([0071]-[0073], cover member can include multiple layers including a plastic material and a metal material) and is spaced apart from the display layer (Fig. 2, [0052]),, the cover member extending to portion of the second area of the substrate, the bending area of the substrate, and a portion of the first area of the substrate (600, [0062]-[0064]), wherein the cover member includes a metal material ([0071]-[0073], such that the cover member comprises a first distal end in the first area as seen in side view an a second distal end in the second area as seen in side view (600, [0062]-[0064]).
Jang does not explicitly teach the cover member comprising a folding area being spaced apart from a first distal end of the cover member in the first area of the substrate and a second distal end of the cover member in the second area of the substrate as seen in side view, the folding area having a thickness less than a thickness of the cover member at a center portion of the cover member and at the first and second distal ends of the cover member, wherein the cover member comprises a first recessed portion closest to the display layer and a second recessed portion closest to the display driving unit, and wherein the first recessed potion and the second recessed portion are vertically aligned with a bending axis of the bending area of the substrate in the thickness direction of the substrate in a thickness direction of the substrate when the bending area is in a bent state.
Jang teaches wherein a first boundary of the bending area closest to the display layer and a second boundary of the bending area closest to the display driving unit are vertically aligned with a bending axis of the bending area of the substrate in a thickness direction of the substrate when the bending area is in a bent state (Fig. 2).
Wang teaches a metal layer for a display device comprising a bending area and a non-bending area, wherein the metal layer comprises a folding area in which the cover member is partially separated on the first surface opposite to the second surface facing the substrate, the folding area being spaced apart from the first distal end and the second distal end of the cover member, the folding area having a thickness less than a thickness of the cover member at a center portion of the cover member and at either distal end of the cover member (Fig. 1, 10, 20, [0041]-[0046]), wherein the metal layer is suitable for bending inward or outward ([0049]).
Lv teaches a display device ([0002]) comprising a display area and a bending area having a cover member comprising a separation area in which the cover member is partially separated to reduce stress, wherein the separation area comprises recessed portions, wherein the separation area comprises recessed portions disposed at the boundaries of the bending area (Figs. 2-3, 70, [0029], 80, [0052]-[0053]), and wherein the position and density of the recessed portions may be adjusted to reduce stress (Figs. 5, 6, 9, [0056]-[0059], [0065]).
Therefore it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the time of the effective filing date to combine the teachings of Wang and Lv with Jang such that the cover member comprising a folding area being spaced apart from a first distal end of the cover member in the first area of the substrate and a second distal end of the cover member in the second area of the substrate as seen in side view, the folding area having a thickness less than a thickness of the cover member at a center portion of the cover member and at the first and second distal ends of the cover member, wherein the cover member comprises a first recessed portion closest to the display layer and a second recessed portion closest to the display driving unit, and wherein the first recessed potion and the second recessed portion are vertically aligned with a bending axis of the bending area of the substrate in the thickness direction of the substrate in a thickness direction of the substrate when the bending area is in a bent state for the purpose of releasing stress at the bending region (Wang, [0044]) and at the junction of the bending area and the flat area (Lv, [0065], [0053]).
Regarding claim 18, the combination of Jang, Wang, and Lv teaches wherein the folding area comprises a plurality of folding areas disposed along a curved surface of the bending area from the first area to the second area (Wang, Fig. 5). It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to further combine the teachings of Jang, Wang, and Lv for the reasons set forth in the rejection of claim 16.
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jang (U.S. PGPub 2018/0090696) in view of Wang (U.S. PGPub 2021/0165447) and Lv (CN 109148534 A) and further in view of Jung (U.S. PGPub 2019/0305234).
Regarding claim 12, the combination of Jang, Wang, and Lv does not explicitly teach wherein a thickness of the cover member is less than a distance between one surface of a cover window covering the first area and one surface of the first area of the substrate facing the one surface of the cover window.
Jung teaches a display device comprising a substrate comprising a first area, second area, and a bending area between the first and second area (Fig. 1), a display layer disposed on the first area of the substrate and a display driving unit disposed on the second area of the substrate (Fig. 2, DA, 130, [0062]-[0065]), a cover member covering the bending area and a portion of the second area (600, Fig. 1, [0133]), a cover window covering the first area (CW, [0119]), wherein the thickness of the cover member is less than a distance between one surface of a cover window covering the first area and one surface of the first area of the substrate facing the one surface of the cover window (Fig. 1).
Therefore it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the time of the effective filing date to combine the teachings of Jung with Jang, Wang, and Lv such that a thickness of the cover member is less than a distance between one surface of a cover window covering the first area and one surface of the first area of the substrate facing the one surface of the cover window for the purpose of providing a cover window over the polarization layer of the display (Jung, [0118]-[0119]; Jang, [0059]).
Claim 23 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jang (U.S. PGPub 2018/0090696) in view of Wang (U.S. PGPub 2021/0165447) and Lv (CN 109148534 A) and further in view of Jeong (U.S. PGPub 2020/0185641).
Regarding claim 23, the combination of Jang, Wang, and Lv teaches a protective film having a first portion and a second portion that are attached to a bottom surface of the substrate in the first area and the second area, respectively, while not disposed in the bending area, while the separation area does not overlap the protective film in a thickness direction of the substrate, and a center of the region between protective areas is horizontally aligned with the bending axis (Jang, Fig. 2, 700, [0066]) but does not explicitly teach a cushion layer between the first portion and the second portion of the protective film, wherein the separation area does not overlap the cushion layer in a thickness direction of the substrate, and wherein a center of the cushion layer is horizontally aligned with the bending axis.
Jeong teaches a display device having a bending area, a first non-bending area and a second non-bending area (Fig. 3, 103, 101/104, [0061]), and a cushion layer between the first and second areas which does not overlap the bending area (134, [0077]).
Therefore it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the time of the effective filing date to combine the teachings of Jeong with Jang, Wang, and Lv such that the device comprises a cushion layer between the first portion and the second portion of the protective film, wherein the separation area does not overlap the cushion layer in a thickness direction of the substrate, and wherein a center of the cushion layer is horizontally aligned with the bending axis for the purpose of maintaining the bent state (Jeong, [0077]).
Claims 1, 8, 16, and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jang (U.S. PGPub 2018/0090696) in view of Wang (U.S. PGPub 2021/0165447), Lv (CN 109148534 A), and Kim (U.S. PGPub 2020/0006681).
Regarding claims 1 and 8, Jang teaches a display device (Fig. 2) comprising: a substrate comprising a first area, a second area, and a bending area between the first area and the second area (first area A1, second area A1, bending area BA, [0052]); a display layer disposed on the first area of the substrate (200, [0056]), a display driving unit disposed on the second area of the substrate (500, [0060]) and a cover member that comprises a metal material ([0071]-[0073], cover member can include multiple layers including a plastic material and a metal material) and is spaced apart from the display layer (Fig. 2, [0052]), comprising a first surface and a second surface and extending to cover a portion of the second area of the substrate, the bending area of the substrate, and a portion of the first area of the substrate such that the cover member comprises a first distal end in the first area as seen in side view an a second distal end in the second area as seen in side view (600, [0062]-[0064]).
Jang does not explicitly teach the cover member comprising a separation area in which the cover member is partially separated on the first surface opposite to the second surface facing the substrate, the separation area comprising a plurality of recessed portions and being spaced apart from the first distal end and the second distal end of the cover member, the separation area having a thickness less than a thickness of the cover member at a center portion of the cover member and at the first and second distal ends of the cover member, wherein the plurality of recessed portions comprises a first recessed portion closest to the display layer and a second recessed portion closest to the display driving unit, and wherein the first recessed portion are vertically aligned with a bending axis of the bending area of the substrate in a thickness direction of the substrate when the bending area is in a bent state, wherein the separation area comprises a cut portion.
Jang teaches wherein a first boundary of the bending area closest to the display layer and a second boundary of the bending area closest to the display driving unit are vertically aligned with a bending axis of the bending area of the substrate in a thickness direction of the substrate when the bending area is in a bent state (Fig. 2).
Wang teaches a metal layer for a display device comprising a bending area and a non-bending area, wherein the metal layer comprises a separation area, area in which the cover member is partially separated on the first surface opposite to the second surface facing the substrate, the separation area the separation area comprising a plurality of recessed portions being spaced apart from the first distal end and the second distal end of the cover member, the separation area having a thickness less than a thickness of the cover member at a center portion of the cover member and at either distal end of the cover member (Fig. 1, 10, 20, 120, [0041]-[0046]), wherein the metal layer is suitable for bending inward or outward ([0049]).
Lv teaches a display device ([0002]) comprising a display area and a bending area having a cover member comprising a separation area in which the cover member is partially separated to reduce stress, wherein the separation area comprises recessed portions, wherein the separation area comprises recessed portions disposed at the boundaries of the bending area (Figs. 2-3, 70, [0029], 80, [0052]-[0053]), and wherein the position and density of the recessed portions may be adjusted to reduce stress (Figs. 5, 6, 9, [0056]-[0059], [0065]).
Kim teaches a cover member on a bending area of a display substrate, wherein the cover member comprises a separation area in which the cover member is partially separated on the first surface opposite to the second surface facing the substrate, by either a recess (Fig. 10C, [0174]) or a cut portion (Fig. 11C, BA, BL, LS, [0181]-[0182]).
Therefore it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the time of the effective filing date to combine the teachings of Wang, Lv, and Kim with Jang such that the cover member comprises a separation area in which the cover member is partially separated on the first surface opposite to the second surface facing the substrate, the separation area comprising a plurality of recessed portions and being spaced apart from the first distal end and the second distal end of the cover member, the separation area having a thickness less than a thickness of the cover member at a center portion of the cover member and at the first and second distal ends of the cover member, wherein the plurality of recessed portions comprises a first recessed portion closest to the display layer and a second recessed portion closest to the display driving unit, and wherein the first recessed portion are vertically aligned with a bending axis of the bending area of the substrate in a thickness direction of the substrate when the bending area is in a bent state, wherein the separation area comprises a cut portion for the purpose of releasing stress at the bending region (Wang, [0044]) and at the junction of the bending area and the flat area (Lv, [0065], [0053]) with to a known equivalent element which would have yielded predictable results (See MPEP 2143.I.B; Kim, [0182]).
Regarding claims 16 and 19, Jang teaches a display device (Fig. 2) comprising: a substrate comprising a first area, a second area, and a bending area between the first area and the second area (first area A1, second area A1, bending area BA, [0052]); a display layer disposed on the first area of the substrate (200, [0056]), a display driving unit disposed on the second area of the substrate (500, [0060]) and a cover member that comprises a metal material ([0071]-[0073], cover member can include multiple layers including a plastic material and a metal material) and is spaced apart from the display layer (Fig. 2, [0052]), the cover member extending to portion of the second area of the substrate, the bending area of the substrate, and a portion of the first area of the substrate (600, [0062]-[0064]), wherein the cover member includes a metal material ([0071]-[0073], such that the cover member comprises a first distal end in the first area as seen in side view an a second distal end in the second area as seen in side view (600, [0062]-[0064]).
Jang does not explicitly teach the cover member comprising a folding area being spaced apart from a first distal end of the cover member in the first area of the substrate and a second distal end of the cover member in the second area of the substrate as seen in side view, the folding area having a thickness less than a thickness of the cover member at a center portion of the cover member and at the first and second distal ends of the cover member, wherein the cover member comprises a first recessed portion closest to the display layer and a second recessed portion closest to the display driving unit, and wherein the first recessed potion and the second recessed portion are vertically aligned with a bending axis of the bending area of the substrate in the thickness direction of the substrate in a thickness direction of the substrate when the bending area is in a bent state, wherein the folding area comprises a cut portion.
Jang teaches wherein a first boundary of the bending area closest to the display layer and a second boundary of the bending area closest to the display driving unit are vertically aligned with a bending axis of the bending area of the substrate in a thickness direction of the substrate when the bending area is in a bent state (Fig. 2).
Wang teaches a metal layer for a display device comprising a bending area and a non-bending area, wherein the metal layer comprises a folding area in which the cover member is partially separated on the first surface opposite to the second surface facing the substrate, the folding area being spaced apart from the first distal end and the second distal end of the cover member, the folding area having a thickness less than a thickness of the cover member at a center portion of the cover member and at either distal end of the cover member (Fig. 1, 10, 20, [0041]-[0046]), wherein the metal layer is suitable for bending inward or outward ([0049]).
Lv teaches a display device ([0002]) comprising a display area and a bending area having a cover member comprising a separation area in which the cover member is partially separated to reduce stress, wherein the separation area comprises recessed portions, wherein the separation area comprises recessed portions disposed at the boundaries of the bending area (Figs. 2-3, 70, [0029], 80, [0052]-[0053]), and wherein the position and density of the recessed portions may be adjusted to reduce stress (Figs. 5, 6, 9, [0056]-[0059], [0065]).
Kim teaches a cover member on a bending area of a display substrate, wherein the cover member comprises a separation area in which comprising a folding area having a thickness less than a thickness of a main portion of the cover member, by forming either a recess (Fig. 10C, [0174]) or a cut portion (Fig. 11C, BA, BL, LS, [0181]-[0182]).
Therefore it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the time of the effective filing date to combine the teachings of Wang, Lv, and Kim with Jang such that the cover member comprising a folding area being spaced apart from a first distal end of the cover member in the first area of the substrate and a second distal end of the cover member in the second area of the substrate as seen in side view, the folding area having a thickness less than a thickness of the cover member at a center portion of the cover member and at the first and second distal ends of the cover member, wherein the cover member comprises a first recessed portion closest to the display layer and a second recessed portion closest to the display driving unit, and wherein the first recessed potion and the second recessed portion are vertically aligned with a bending axis of the bending area of the substrate in the thickness direction of the substrate in a thickness direction of the substrate when the bending area is in a bent state, wherein the folding area comprises a cut portion for the purpose of releasing stress at the bending region (Wang, [0044]) and at the junction of the bending area and the flat area (Lv, [0065], [0053]) with to a known equivalent element which would have yielded predictable results (See MPEP 2143.I.B; Kim, [0182]).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Nematollahisarvestani, Ali & Lee, Y.C.. (2020). A Review on United States Patents to Prevent Mechanical Failures in Foldable Smartphones. Journal of Electronic Packaging. 143. 10.1115/1.4048011.
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALIA SABUR whose telephone number is (571)270-7219. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:30-5:30.
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/ALIA SABUR/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2812